San Jose Sharks could be seeking a scorer at trade deadline

Sharks general manager Doug Wilson is notoriously tight-lipped all year, but even more so now with the NHL's Feb. 27 trade deadline less than three weeks away.

"Once we get in this month," Wilson said Monday, "I don't make any comment about anything."

Wilson will not address rumors. And beyond his standard response -- "We look every day for ways to improve this hockey team" -- he won't spell out his priorities, because that might cost him leverage. But here's some educated speculation:

Unlike most seasons, San Jose should not be focused on adding a depth defenseman or a fourth-line grinder. Right now, the Sharks should be looking for a proven scorer for one of their top two forward lines.

It's not complicated. Right wing Marty Havlat remains on injured reserve and is not expected to return before early March -- after the trade deadline. That means San Jose would be gambling on a player's projected health.

That has happened before -- with bad results.

In Todd McLellan's first season with the Sharks, several injured players were getting healthy late in the 2008-09 season. But their inability to reach their potential after they returned was one reason cited when the Presidents' Trophy-winning Sharks were upset by the Anaheim Ducks in the first round.

Besides that, Havlat, who had two goals and 13 assists in 26 games, has been inconsistent this season. Will he return as the effective player who scored three points in the two games before tearing a hamstring tendon Dec. 17? Or the player kept off the scoresheet in 12 of 16 games before that?

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Which forward Wilson might bring in as top-six insurance is another matter altogether. Of all the big names that circulate at this time of the year -- maybe Teemu Selanne of Anaheim or Shane Doan of Phoenix -- only a handful are actually available. Do not expect either of those two players to end up in San Jose.

Contract issues, of course, are as important as productivity in any trade, especially with the current collective bargaining agreement expiring in September and nobody knowing what comes next as far as the salary cap.

A media source in Edmonton said the Sharks were talking with Columbus about R.J. Umberger. Carolina forward Tuomo Ruutu could be a player of interest in San Jose, but all NHL teams are still waiting to see if he re-signs with the Hurricanes.

That kind of speculation, of course, is exactly what leaves Wilson and others such as McLellan shaking their heads at this time of year.

"We can't control any of that," McLellan said of the rumors that circulate in print and online. "We understand that as an organization right from Doug on through the coaching staff, and I really believe the players understand that.

"I've heard names of our players bandied around, and we've never once talked about that."

These days, even hypothetical scenarios can get twisted in actual rumors. One Bay Area analyst, for example, included Joe Pavelski in a package of players that might be the price if the Sharks were interested in acquiring an elite forward such as last season's MVP, Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks.

Suddenly, the Sharks were said to be shopping Pavelski -- as unlikely as the report over All-Star weekend that Ryane Clowe was available -- and the Edmonton Journal spent 875 words analyzing Pavelski and his possible value to the Oilers.

"Doug and I talk every day," McLellan said. "Then you go home and somebody mentions a rumor to you, and we haven't spent any time talking about those players or wanting to move them. Ninety-five percent of it is fabricated or created for hype."

The Pavelski story hadn't reached the player himself until after Monday's practice.

"Obviously you don't want your name out there," he said, "but if it is, it's part of the business -- and you go about your own business."

The Sharks placed fourth-line right wing Andrew Murray on waivers. If no other team claims him by 9 a.m. Tuesday, he will be reassigned to Worcester.

"Simply just to get him playing again," McLellan said when asked why Murray would be sent to Worcester. "I have no complaints in Andy's game, and his professionalism has been very good."